Puttanesca Sauce

Red · Medium · Dry

Tuscany's everyday red, made from Sangiovese — cherry, leather, and a brisk acidity that makes tomato-based dishes sing. The Classico designation marks the historic heartland and a step up in quality.

Works with Pasta With Puttanesca Sauce · Puttanesca Sauce With Spaghetti · Squid Ink Pasta With Puttanesca Sauce

Red · Medium · Dry

The soul of Tuscany — bright red cherry, dried herbs, and a savory line of acidity that craves tomato sauce. Chianti is the everyday face; Brunello is its serious cousin.

Works with Puttanesca Sauce · Puttanesca Sauce With Spaghetti · Squid Ink Pasta With Puttanesca Sauce

White · Light · Dry

Citrus, cut grass, and a wire of acid. Marlborough makes it loudest; Sancerre makes it most refined. Either way, it cuts cleanly through goat cheese, herbs, and anything with shellfish.

Works with Puttanesca Sauce · Pasta With Puttanesca Sauce · Squid Ink Pasta With Puttanesca Sauce

Red · Medium · Dry

Piedmont's everyday red and Italy's secret food wine — high acid, low tannins, juicy red cherry, and a touch of earth. Pairs effortlessly with anything red-sauce.

Works with Puttanesca Sauce With Spaghetti · Fusilli With Porcini Puttanesca Sauce

White · Light · Dry

Italy's everyday white — light, lemony, neutral by design. Pleasant with anything; profound with very little. The best Friuli bottles are quietly excellent.

Works with Puttanesca Sauce With Spaghetti · Squid Ink Pasta With Puttanesca Sauce

Red · Medium · Dry

Tempranillo-based blend from northern Spain, traditionally oak-aged into something quietly profound. Cherry, dill, vanilla, leather; great with lamb, paella, and aged Manchego.

Works with Pasta With Puttanesca Sauce · Fusilli With Porcini Puttanesca Sauce

White · Light · Dry

Galicia's gift to summer — citrus, peach, salt air, and acid like a knife. Made for shellfish, paella, and any dish that involves the sea.

France's most northeastern wine region — single-varietal whites from Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, and more. Aromatic, structured, sometimes off-dry, always food-friendly.

Red · Light · Dry

Gamay-based reds from southern Burgundy — light, fruity, food-friendly. The serious Cru bottlings (Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent) drink like Pinot Noir at half the price.

White · Medium · Dry

Chardonnay grown on Burgundy's chalkiest soils, almost never oaked. Lean, steely, oyster-shell minerality; a wine that tastes like a place. The wine for shellfish, full stop.

Sparkling · Light · Dry

Méthode champenoise from the most chalk-rich corner of France — fine bubbles, brioche, lemon zest, and a finish that goes on for half a minute. The wine for anything fried, salty, or special.

White · Medium · Dry

The most-planted white grape and the most chameleon-like. Crisp and steely from Chablis; rich, oaky, and tropical from California. Read the label, then match the style to the dish.